Abraham Pleads Sodom's Case

"The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Genesis 18:22-26

Abraham had a reason for pleading the case for Sodom. His beloved cousin Lot was living there, and I'm sure he did not want to see his cousin wiped out for no good reason. This says a few things. It says for one that Abraham was confident that Lot was still a Godly man, despite living amongst evil. It also says that Abraham loved his cousin very much and wished to see him spared. Abraham continued to barter with God for Sodom's salvation and finally agreed on the number five. If five righteous were found within the walls of the city, the city would be spared. So God sent two of his angels to Sodom to find five righteous men. They found only Lot, who offered them shelter and protection.

"But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof." Genesis 19:3-8

The angels pulled Lot back inside and told him they were going to destroy the city. The took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and took them out of the city right away and told them to go away and never look back. As soon as Lot and his family were safe, The Lord did indeed destroy Sodom, as well as Gomorrah. God rained down fire and sulfur and destroyed the cities- the people and all the vegetation. Lot's wife, however, chose to look back and see what she shouldn't have, and because she disobeyed God's instructions, she was turned into a pillar of salt.